No withdrawal of troops from J&K: Army chief

The new Indian Army chief, General Deepak Kapoor on Saturday ruled out the withdrawal of troops from Jammu and Kashmir, saying the situation was not conducive after a fresh spurt in violence.

His statement came on a day four soldiers and 11 militants were killed in separate encounters across J&K.

Three of the clashes happened in Baramullah and Kupwara in north Kashmir.

“The army will play its role till normalcy is restored. It is not the time to pull out troops,” General Kapoor said at the battalion headquarters of the 34 Rashtriya Rifles in Beerwah, central Kashmir.

The army chief also pinned seven commendation cards to the chests of the jawans involved in the operation in an unprecedented gesture.

On allegations of human rights violations by the army, he said: “The Prime Minister’s zero-tolerance is a direction for us. I will not allow any human rights violations.”